The Slaveholders Regime apush Slavery in perspective Legally: Property Morally: absence of freedom Unrestrained personal control of one group over another Denial of economic opportunity Denial of citizenship & basic rights Denial of cultural self- identification The Global Slave Trade The US imported 7% of the total of 10 million slaves sent to the Western Hemisphere Brazil 36% Caribbean 40% South America 17% Sugar drove the world slave trade Tobacco drove the US slave market in the 1700s Cotton drove the US slave market after the invention of the cotton gin (1790s) 1801: 100,000 bales 1859: 5,400,000 bales Cotton is King in America The Cotton Kingdom: Climate & soil perfect for cotton Steamboats & rivers = cheaper than canals to get cotton to market Slaves = solution to labor needs More profitable on large Farms Cheaper to supervise large groups of slaves Shorter work hours, but greater intensity of work Yearly returns consistently >10% Therefore: profitable & economically viable Could have been MORE profitable but there was A LOT of competition Average Rate of Return on Slaves PeriodUpper SouthLower South %12% % %19% %17% %12% % Ye Olde Antebellum South Rural/Agricultural focus FFew large cities